This application claims the priority of German application 196 35 869.8, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a folding top for vehicles, with the top being lowered into a rear storage compartment of the vehicle when the top is open, with the upwardly directed opening of the rear storage compartment being covered by at least one lid that can be displaced for closing the top into a deflecting position that provides the pivoting clearance for the top.
DE 44 46 483 A1 describes a known folding top with the upwardly directed opening of the rear storage compartment being covered by a cover plate in the forward area and by a rear lid which can be folded upwardly and rearwardly behind the cover plate when the folding top is lowered. In its lowered storage position, the folding top is secured below the closed covers but is not secured in the rear storage area in such manner that it will not rattle, especially under the influence of acceleration forces when driving.
Also, DE 195 07 431 C1 describes a folding top in which two latching hooks project from the folding top in the vicinity of the forward end of the roof. The hooks engage matching retaining bolts at the forward edge of the roof above the windshield when the top is closed. When the top is open, the latching hooks instead are each locked to a matching retaining lug that projects rearward from a forward limiting wall of the rear storage area. The folding top, in its storage position, is locked secured in a rattle-free manner in the rear storage area.
In order to close the known folding top, however, the latching hooks must first be unlocked from their retaining lugs so that the folding top is released. For this purpose, with manual top operation, an additional operating procedure is required, and for automatic top operation, an additional control expense is required. In addition, this type of locking is suitable only for folding tops in which immovable retaining lugs can be located without difficulty in the forward end area of the rear storage compartment, because this compartment need not serve as a location or provide clearance for movement of other components.
An object of the present invention is to improve a folding top so that it can be secured in the rear storage area in its stored position without the retaining means that project immovably from the body being required.
The foregoing object has been achieved according to the present invention by providing that the lid has a supporting means arrangement which, when folding top is lowered and the lid cooperates with a corresponding supporting means arrangement of the folding top so that the folding top can be secured by the locking means of the lid.
Because the cooperating supports are located on the foldably movable folding top, on one hand, and on the cover which can be moved into a deployed position, on the other hand, it is moved outward together with the folding top and/or the cover and thus out of the rear storage compartment. Limitation of the space available in the rear storage compartment can therefore be largely avoided.